What is "maecilia"

The gens Maecilia was a minor plebeian family at ancient Rome. Although of great antiquity, only two members of this gens are mentioned in republican times, both tribunes of the plebs in the first century of the Republic. The Maecilii appear again, somewhat sporadically, in imperial times, even obtaining the consulship during the early fourth century. One of the last emperors of the Western Empire was Marcus Maecilius Avitus.